News

Conception Boat Fire: Feds Raid Owner’s Offices

Tue, 09/10/2019

Investigators with the FBI, ATF, and the U.S. Coast Guard have raided the Santa Barbara offices of Truth Aquatics Inc., which owns and operates a 75-foot diving vessel that caught fire near Santa Cruz Island on Labor Day.

The cause of the blaze, which killed 34 people, is not yet known. The Conception had passed its safety inspections, but sources have told the Los Angeles Times that authorities are looking at “serious safety deficiencies” aboard the vessel. There has been speculation that the fire began in the boat’s galley where phones and camera equipment were charging.